LIHU‘E — Don’t try to tell the Kaua‘i High and Kapa‘a High varsity boys volleyball players that last night’s match was meaningless. Even though it didn’t impact the first-round standings, the five-match marathon finally won by the Red Raiders had all
LIHU‘E — Don’t try to tell the Kaua‘i High and Kapa‘a High varsity boys volleyball players that last night’s match was meaningless.
Even though it didn’t impact the first-round standings, the five-match marathon finally won by the Red Raiders had all the tension of playoff volleyball, with lead changes, many, many ties, much bravado on display at the net and elsewhere, key-player injuries, and much more for the small crowd in attendance at the Raiders home gym.
The scores were 16-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23 and 16-14.
And within each game there were subplots, like the Raiders racing to a 3-0 lead and not regaining the lead again in game one.
Or in game two, an error fest that saw the Raiders trail the entire game until tying it at 19 and 20 before taking their first lead at 21-20, then never relinquishing it.
Game three, pivotal, saw Kapa‘a lead from start to finish, but the crowd wasn’t as quiet after game three as they were when they seem dazed that Kapa‘a had won game one.
Kapa‘a again charged out in game four, leading 3-0 before the Raiders tied it a 3, then lead the rest of the way by as many as 11 before Kapa‘a made it interesting at 24-22 and 24-23.
Game five saw the Raiders have to rely on backup setter Austine Acorda, after Tyren Hasegawa went out with a jammed finger, while Sonny Walton went down with what Head Coach Merrill Carvalho called a severely sprained ankle.
The lead changed hands three times, with ties at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 13, in game five, the race to 15 points, before the Raiders finally prevailed.
Lucas Riley had nine kills and 10 blocks for the Raiders, and Austin Simao added nine kills, including four in the final game, the principal recipient of Acorda’s eight assists in that game.
Kaleo Cummings added 10 kills and three blocks. Before Walton’s injury, he was a presence at the net, with seven kills and eight blocks. Likewise Hasegawa, with 17 assists, two kills and two blocks.
Sean Shigematsu led the way for Kapa‘a with 12 kills and five blocks, Rui Yap and Cody Abigania added seven kills each, and Stephen Greenleaf had five kills and 10 blocks.
The Raiders racked up eight aces in game four, and they needed them all. Jay Fernandez, Cody Morden and Cummings had two apiece, and Acorda and Darren Lapitan added one each.
“They got a lot of character,” Carvalho said of his players after the game. “Austine Acorda stepped it up big time in one of the biggest games of his career,” having to replace regular setter Hasegawa.
“There was good court leadership. It was a good team effort,” he added.
“It was a hard-fought volleyball match,” said Kapa‘a Head Coach Matt Gonsalves. “Both teams did things well, and both struggled.
“I’m proud of our guys, and I’m enthused we have something to build on in the second round,” Gonsalves added.
“But it was a tough one to lose.”
There are no games scheduled this week. Round two begins April 15 at Kapa‘a High.
In junior varsity action last night, Kaua‘i High won three straight, 25-16, 15-19 and 27-25.
• Paul C. Curtis, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com
